Council Plans Opposition to Proposed Municipal Government Operation Changes

Members of Manchester's Township Council last week held a workshop at their regular meeting to discuss proposed changes to state laws governing how public meetings are conducted and how local government information is shared online.

State Senate bills S-2765 and S-1351 would both place financial and time burdens on the township, the council determined, and the members plan to introduce formal resolutions opposing the legislation at the June 27 meeting.

"I'm not against transparency. I fully believe we should be very transparent,"  said council member Kenneth Vanderziel about the intent of the bills.

The execution, however, asks too much of municipalities already dealing with financial stresses, Vanderziel said.

"It's overkill in regard to what they want us to do."

Discussion of State Senate Bill 1351

Clerk Sabina Skibo was asked by the council for her thoughts on state Senate bill 1351, introduced on Jan. 1 by Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-37) and Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney (D-3).

The legislation is meant to ensure the public is aware of, and can attend, public meetings since "secrecy in public affairs fosters corruption and official misconduct," the bill states.

Skibo said that the new rules are burdensome and, in some cases, unrealistic, to implement.

Agenda "packets would need to be prepared on the Tuesday before our Monday meeting in order to comply with adequate notice, because the agenda and other items would need to be on the township website three business days before the meeting, rather than the current 48 hours," she said.

The bill would require the council to list specific start times for public and non-public portions of meetings.

"Sometimes, it's not always feasible to know when one is going to begin after a non-public or closed session," Skibo said.

Three days notice would also be required for special meetings, something that would have to be planned for a week ahead of time, Skibo said.

Council member Brendan Weiner said council meetings with the board of education over the  last month served as "the perfect example" of why he opposes this provision.

"We had such a short window to act on that and to take action," he said. "If we had to wait three business days for the council to post a notice for the school budget and for the school to do the same, we would have gone beyond that time frame."

Had the council missed the deadline, school budget cuts could have been determined by the county superintendent, rather than township officials.

"That's what we did not want to happen," Weiner said.

The bill states that topics can only be discussed if on the agenda, except in emergency circumstances, which could hinder public participation, the council said.

Council president Craig Wallis provided an example of how this rule would work: "When you have public comment, and you stand up to say something about, say, the streets in Pine Lake Park, my answer would be 'it's not on the agenda. I can't talk about it.'"

Weiner agreed that the council should not turn away residents' concerns and tell them to return in two weeks for the next meeting so the item can be put on the agenda for discussion.

"That's not how government should operate," Weiner said.

The legislation also states that sound recordings of all meetings must be saved for seven years. The current law calls for the township to hold recordings for 80 days after approval of minutes. 

Recordings and draft minutes must be prepared within two weeks or three days before the next scheduled meeting, something Skibo said could be "impossible" if back-to-back meetings are on the calendar.

The council would also be required to keep resolutions online for five years.

"That becomes cumbersome as well," Skibo said, adding that the municipal code book containing township laws is already available online.

"It puts an unfair financial burden on the township at a time when we're cutting back," said council member Frederick Trutkoff. "I believe they might have good intentions, but it's just too much."

Discussio of State Senate Bill 2765

The council also discussed state Senate bill 2765, which was introduced on March 10 and sponsored by Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-12) and Sen. Barbara Buono (D-18).

It would require "local authorities and commissions to establish an Internet website and post information related to  each entity's mission, finances, meetings and employees," according to the legislation's synopsis. 

The proposals were made, the bill states, after a report by the Office of the State Comptroller found that "even when local agencies establish websites, those websites often lack basic and significant information about the operations and fiscal affairs of local commissions and authorities." 

Wallis said that municipalities should regularly post information online and that Manchester is moving in that direction, but cost is a factor.

"The problem with it is, every town can't afford to have a website," he said. "We're trying to get that way, to get everything they're asking for, but at our pace. If we had to do it right away, we'd be hiring other people or an outside contractor to run a website. The idea is really good, but it's a mandate that's not coming with any kind of funding from the state."

Vanderziel said that he believes residents are not using the township website enough to warrant the cost associated with immediately passing the bill. 

"I oppose the bill, again on the matter that it is overkill," he said. "If you have to put the information in right away, it will be very costly."

The council will introduce resolutions opposing both bills at its June 27 meeting, which will be held at 6 p.m. at the Manchester Municipal Complex on Colonial Drive.